Handouts

There’s a lot of information that’s crammed into the last few years of high school. However, one thing that’s often not talked about is assistive technology (AT). This presentation will help participants unpack what may have been missing! Speakers will talk about the full range of AT and ways to pay for it.

Presenter: Tracy Beck, Susan Tachau

In this session, participants will learn about ways to support youth and young adults with mental health disabilities in developing PLANS for attending a post-secondary college or training program.

Presenter: Kristopher Koberlein

During this session, learn about the Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU) OPTIONS program. OPTIONS provides a comprehensive array of transition services for students to prepare them for employment and community living once they exit school. Presenters will discuss how OPTIONS provides the new Pre-Employment Transition Services Program for school-aged students through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) implementing PA Act 26.

Presenter: Multiple Presenters

During this session, learn about the Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education’s secondary transition projects, programs, and activities designed to ensure the success of middle and high school students receiving special education services and supports throughout Pennsylvania.

Presenter: Hillary Mangis, Michael Stoehr

Transition and career assessment drive the transition planning process, but are often misunderstood. This interactive session focuses on participants’ building core knowledge of assessment practices to promote a holistic approach to transition planning. Be prepared to learn about and share various assessment tools and strategies, as well as how to interpret data. Most importantly, participants will discuss synthesizing assessment data so youth can be empowered, through the assessment process, to achieve their post-secondary goals.

Presenter: Ashley McFall, Adrienne Stiteler

During this interactive session learn about current research focused on the status of digital inclusion of individuals with disabilities. Information and technology are ever-present in U.S. society and across the world, yet individuals with disabilities often face exclusion in their participation in digital environments. This may especially affect individuals of transition age, which is a time when the use of technology as a tool increases, especially in education and employment outcomes. In this presentation, questions about identity, social capital, community participation, human rights, opportunity, poverty, risk, and other areas of concern for students of transition age will be discussed. During this session participants will engage in a lively discussion about how youth are using digital technology, as well as how we might expand these opportunities to support transition to adult life.

Presenter: Matthew Flanagan, Joan Kester

Disability presents lifelong challenges and yet options for support services sharply decline after high school. Realizing that continued services are integral to personal success, the Center for Independent Living is transforming current trends through an innovative “bridge program” that develops workplace social skills in adolescence and builds on them through adulthood.

Presenter: Joseph Ross, Michael Williams

The OVR executive team will review and explain the new alphabet soup of pre-employment transition programming for students with disabilities and the innovative programs that have been and continue to be developed to meet their needs as they transition from school into the world of competitive integrated employment.

Presenter: OVR Exec Team

This facilitated session is designed for teachers, transition coordinators, counselors, career technical education personnel, intermediate unit staff, and other related educational personnel to discuss effective practices and strategies that are occurring in schools and communities. This is a closed session designed specifically for education related staff.

Presenter: Schmitt, Sobolewski, Stoehr

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, allows for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) to provide Pre-Employment Transition Services to students with disabilities. This presentation will provide participants with an overview of the definition of pre-employment transition services, and how PA OVR has implemented services in the last year. Success stories will be highlighted, as well as the vision for the future of Pre-Employment Transition Services.

Presenter: Sarah Vogel